Something Called Magic

By Taylor Coblentz

In the adventure they never saw coming, four young sisters, Christal, Izzy, Jess, and Kate travel through mystical time with only magic rings and a guide book to protect them. Will their sisterhood be strong enough to save their parents and little sister from a tragic fate?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Taylor Coblentz
• Release date: Apr 27, 2023
• ISBN: 9798986767215

Book preview

One

Christal

BINGGGG!  My head collided with the silver metal pole of the monkey bar. I jolted backwards, trying not to fall into the mud, as the stars in my eyes twinkled like the night sky. Jess asked if I was okay, while my other two sisters stumbled on through the mucky field, not even noticing my minor accident.

Yeah, I am fine. I just hope that I won’t have a swollen bump on my head at school tomorrow! That’d be a fun one to have to explain, I said giggling, as I rubbed my sore forehead and tried to regain my balance. My eyes were only watering a little.

Yeah, ‘Hi Mrs. McGrady, I hit my head on a pole while staring at the boys walking home,’ Jess said giggling while she mocked me. 

"I was not!" I quickly responded. How embarrassing—I hoped no one else saw.

My three sisters and I were heading home from school through the upper elementary playground. We walked home every day because we lived so close. A perfect view of our house could be seen through a set of trees right next to the recess area. We were lucky to be able to walk to school every day, even though it didn’t always feel like it during the winter months in Michigan. Jess and I trotted to catch up with Kate and Izzy, my other two sisters. 

Nearing our backyard, I admired our new in-ground pool and the wooden tree house our father had built us about a year before. My dad claims that he built it to make us happy, but if you ask me, I think he just wanted a place we could go in order to give him some peace and quiet in the house! We could climb a five-foot ladder to reach the entryway of the tree house that sat between two huge trees in our yard. It was just large enough for all of us to sit criss-cross-applesauce in a circle. We spent so much time talking and laughing together in there.

I was so glad the weather was finally warming up enough to be outside and in the pool again. It was getting closer and closer to summer vacation, when my sisters and I would be able to hang out every day from dawn to dusk. Dad was planning on opening the pool soon, so we would finally be able to get back to one of our favorite pastimes. It had felt like a long winter.

Weren’t we so lucky that our parents had four girls so close in age? Kate and Jess were fraternal twins born the year after me. They were finishing up the fifth grade. Izzy came a year later and was just finishing fourth grade. Then there was our sweet baby sister, Lucy. I think my dad wanted a boy if I am being honest… but us girls just kept coming!

We walked around the side of the house to get to our front door. I ran up the front steps and opened the door with my royal key. My parents always left me in charge since I was in sixth grade and would be in middle school after the upcoming summer passed. I twisted and turned the gold key until the door opened with a slight creak.

Izzy scurried in before I could even open the door all the way. She went into the kitchen to check voicemail messages on our home phone’s answering machine, like always. Yes, we still had a home phone with an answering machine. None of us had cell phones yet (trust me—we tried), so that was my parent’s best solution.

Anyways, that was the daily routine. Our parents usually worked until 5:30, so after school let out around 3:00, we were on our own for a few hours. Our father was a doctor at a local hospital and our mother was a veterinarian. They were two of the nicest people in the entire country, always caring for someone or something else more than themselves. In fact, even when they’d come home from work, they’d still have five kids to attend to, and we usually acted like the animals that Mom took care of during the day. 

I went inside our house, flipped off my white sneakers that were now coated in mud, and sock-glided into the kitchen next to Izzy. Jess pounded up the stairs to start getting ready for her soccer practice. I could hear the wood creaking upstairs as she frantically moved around looking for clean clothes. Kate, of course, immediately went to do her homework up in her bedroom. Mom claimed that Kate had been reading and writing since the day she was born!

Izzy pressed the blinking red button on the voicemail machine and the first message began. It was just a message from some telemarketer. Now that everyone else in the world had cell phones, we usually only had calls coming in from telemarketers or our parents.  

Izzy immediately deleted that message, keeping her finger near the delete button in preparation for the next spam voicemail.

If only we had known what was actually waiting for us.

Two

Christal

Hi girls, this is Mom. Just wanted to let you know that your father and I got out of work early and went out to get groceries together with Lucy. We will be home… watch out honey! I love… The words ended abruptly as the phone went silent, and with a beep, the message concluded. Izzy and I stood there staring at each other, not knowing what had just happened.

As I looked into Izzy’s eyes, I saw tears running down her pink cheeks, as my own eyes started to blur. I dropped down to the brown hardwood floor with a thump. Why had mom’s call ended so abruptly? Why was she trying to say that she loved us before the message ended? Why hadn’t she called back since then? There were no more messages.

Okay, I am leaving for soccer now! I want to get there a little early to practice on the field. Do you know if we have any more water bottles in the garage? Jess asked as she came leaping down the stairs wearing her soccer shorts and practice jersey. She looked over at Izzy and me with her shiny brown eyes when we didn’t respond. What’s wrong? she asked, immediately running over to the both of us, noticing that we were crumbling into pieces. I shakily pointed to the answering-machine without saying a word. Jess played the message but didn’t react. She stared blankly at the machine in horror. You guys don’t think that… well you know… something actually happened to them, do you? Jess finally asked with a lump in her throat.

I don’t know. I don’t know what to think right now Jess, I choked out. But I do know that we should go get Kate, cause it doesn’t seem good.

I stood up slowly,